1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool useful for cutting cove strips that are used along the edges of a floor atop which linoleum or other sheet flooring is to be laid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the installation of linoleum flooring and other stiff, sheet flooring material it is frequently desirable for the linoleum to extend up the vertical surfaces of walls and cabinetry a short distance at transitions between the horizontal flooring and such vertical surfaces. Typically, the linoleum extends upwardly a distance of between three and six inches and is capped at its top with a trim strip.
The reason for extending the linoleum flooring a short distance up the vertical wall and cabinet surfaces is to provide a relatively smooth, concave transition between the horizontal flooring and the adjacent vertical surfaces at which the flooring terminates. This is done so as to facilitate cleaning of the edges of the flooring. Without such a smooth transition between the horizontal linoleum flooring and the surrounding vertical surfaces there is a pronounced tendency for dirt, food particles, cobwebs, and other undesirable debris to accumulate along the edges of the floor at the transition between the flooring and adjacent vertical surfaces. In the trade the provision of such a vertical extension of sheet flooring at the perimeter of the floor is referred to as "coving" the flooring.
Since in virtually all construction horizontal flooring meets the surrounding vertical surfaces of walls, baseboards, cabinetry and other upright surfaces at an angle close to ninety degrees, there is always a gap beneath the linoleum flooring where it arcuately curves from the floor to rise up the adjacent vertical surface. To prevent the linoleum from being punctured by forces exerted on it in the coved area, it is important for the linoleum to be supported from beneath continuously throughout the perimeter area where it coved up and loses contact with the floor. This support is normally provided by a cove strip.
Conventional cove strips are formed from cove sticks that are typically extruded lengths of plastic having an arcuately curved, concave outer surface. Cove sticks are commercially formed with a width of one and a half inches and also with widths of one and one-quarter inches. When the cove strips are installed their curved surfaces face upwardly and inwardly toward the room at the transitions between the floor and adjacent vertical surfaces. The curved cove strip surface provides direct, backing support for the coved linoleum as it curves upwardly toward the adjacent vertical surfaces at the perimeter of the floor.
The underside surfaces of cove strips are flat, planar surfaces that conform, respectively, to the flat surface of the floor and the vertical surfaces of the walls or cabinets at the perimeter of the floor. That is, the flat, planar surfaces on the undersides of the marginal edges of the cove strips are oriented at right angles relative to each other. These flat, mutually perpendicular surfaces normally do not extend all the way into the extreme corner of the transition between the floor and its surrounding vertical surfaces. Rather, the mutually perpendicular surfaces on the backside of the cove strips are truncated by an intermediate flat, planar backing surface that is oriented at forty-five degrees relative to both of the marginal, edge backside surfaces. This truncation saves material cost in production and also accommodates any irregularity that may exist at the intersection of the floor with the vertical surfaces that surround it.
Cove strip material is brought to the job site in long lengths often referred to as cove sticks. In installing the cove strips the cove sticks must first be cut to length. In performing these cuts the cove sticks must often be cut an angle so that the different lengths of cove strips which are cut meet properly at interior corners, exterior corners, and also at door frames and other abutting surfaces. For two lengths of cove stripping to meet properly at a corner, each of the abutting cove strip lengths must be cut at an angle of forty-five degrees, as viewed in plan view. The cove strips will thereby provide proper support to the upwardly curving linoleum disposed thereatop. Also, at door frames the cove strips must be cut at right angles so as to properly abut against the door frame moldings.
In conventional practice all cuts of cove sticks are normally performed using a conventional carpenter's miter box and a hand saw. The cove stick is positioned in the miter box and aligned with the appropriate slots in the walls thereof for the angle of cut desired. The hand saw is then worked through a number of strokes within the desired slots in the miter box walls to cut the cove stick to the desired angle.
In the installation of cove strips, a great many cuts are required. Consequently, considerable time in the aggregate is expended in sawing through the cove sticks using a carpenter's miter box. Furthermore, in order to use a miter box it is normally necessary for the box to be placed on the floor so that support is provided in making the cut. This requires the installer to spend virtually the entire time making the cuts hunched over on hands and knees. This adds to the discomfort and fatigue of the installation job. Furthermore, in performing the cuts using a miter box and saw granular debris is generated comparable to sawdust that is created in sawing wood. This debris must be cleaned up as it can otherwise interfere with the bond that the linoleum floor adhesive makes with both the floor surface upon which the linoleum is laid and the underside of the linoleum itself.